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The Virtuous Faith
The Virtuous Faith The Virtuous Faith is the most commonly practised religion throughout the Imperium, making it one of the words most dominant faiths. Origin The Faith was founded by Erkenbald the Liberator, First Travertine Emperor and Augur of the Monolyth, in 6 BA, when he traversed the path to the top of mountain, called the Monolyth and saw the truth of the universe and its conception. Erkenbald would later go on to institute this religion into the newly formed Imperium. Scripture that is accepted by the faith is "The Tale of Stein, The Book of Verities, The Book of Laws and the Book of Prophesies" Which were all transcribed from the inscriptions atop the Monolyth, together these are compiled to make the "Augury" which is the basis for all sects of the faith. Sects: Imperial Orthodoxy: Orthodoxy is branch of the faith official accepted in the Imperium and is by far the most common, it's leader is the "Augur of the Monolyth" who also occupies the role Travertine Emperor. The Orthodox faith is intrinsically linked to the bureaucratic governance of the Imperium as many of the institutions of the faith serve the Empire. The Orthodoxy faith only accepts "The Augury" and "The Liberation Account" as sacred scripture and views all other texts as apocryphal. Convictionalism: The Convictionalists are in the minority compared to believers of the Orthodox faith, however they live in close knit communities that do not mingle or breed with outsiders. Convictionalists believe that Erkenbald intended for the roles of "Travertine Emperor" and "Augur of the Monolyth" to be separate and distinct. While the Convictionalists do believe that the Emperor's should be Erkenbald's descendants, they also believe that the role of Augur should be based on a chosen successor and that Erkenbald chose his successor, starting an unbroken line that has continued to the modern Convictional Augur. Convictionalists have a number of distinct beliefs that come from the "Book of Evils" which they believe was written by Erkenbald toward the end of his life and details all the thing that lead to the folly of men. Among the Beliefs found in the "Book of Evils" is that one should not touch the purest of Stein's creations being rock, especially travertine, this leads the Convictionalists to cover themselves almost entirely in wrappings, as well as ceremoniously washing frequently for any stone that may have come through. The Convictionalists are oppressed in many areas of the Imperium due to their inclination toward alienating themselves and forming concise exclusive communities. The official policy of the Imperium is that Convictionalists are not citizens, so are not entitled to rights. There are no official clergy of the convictionalists, however travelling groups and communities usually select an elder to lead them who ,in most cases, has correspondence with the Convictional Augur. The Followers of Friedrich: Saint Friedrich was a preacher and scholar of the Virtuous Faith, that arrived in the colonies in 59 PA in order to convert the native Fae to his faith. According to accounts Friedrich was brutally sacrificed by the local Fae tribes to their pantheon. The death of Friedrich is used by many to justify the enslavement and subjugation of the Fae population. Many in the colonies have a reverence for Friedrich, not shared by the those in the heartland of the Imperium, these people are sometimes described as followers of Friedrich. His idol can usually be found in many colonists homes, alongside that of Erkenbald and the Virtues. Friedrich is the patron of travellers, colonists and missionaries.